The Worthington advance. [volume] (Worthington, Minn.) 1874-1908, 1887-01-27
THE COUNTY PRINTING.


TIGOkOUS LETTER FROM THE
CHA IRMAN Of THE BOARD.
l. EDITOR ADvANCE:-The editor of
the WorthingtOn Globe, in the last is.
sue, charges the Board of County Com
missioners with all manner of high
crimes in connection with the county
printing. His public charge is against
the whole Board. Privately. to the
subscriber and his friends, he makes
the chairman an exception from those
charges.
wish no exception made in my ia.
vor, either privately or publicly
While as chairman of the Board, | was
not called on to vote on that subject,
and did not vote, had l done so,
should have voted just as the majority
of the Board did do. and would have
been doing my duty to the county in so
doing, it 1 rightly understand the law
which defines my duties. l do not
know what motive prompted the act
ions of others, rs did not converse
with a single member of the Board
about this matter before final action
was taken, nor haye done so SINCE
They are all men who act upon their
own Judgment and whose reputa.
lions for honesty cannot be sullied by
the dirty filings of such men as those
who wrote that article.
l. Let US look at the writer's of the
article and tind the object they had in
view in writing it. A part of it is
written 10y the editor of the Globe. but
the most bitter part is written by the
county auditor, who, by law, is the
clerk Of the Board of County Commis-
sioners. Why did Lr. Mills write that
article? What interest had he at
stake? What was his motive? He
claims that the action of the Board
was for political purposes. but very
strangely of the men who voted to give
the contract to the ADVANCE, but one
is in political sympathy with the AD-
VANCE. The others Hre and were last
fall against it. MIR. Mills acted before
the Board III this matter rs the cham.
pion Of the Globe, and used every
means in his power to give the con-
tract to the Globe. Is it not true that
Mills was trying to do with this print
ing just what he accuses the Board of
doing? to-wit: Use 1t for political pur-
poses, that is, TO pay his debt to the
Globe tor political work done in the
last campaign. think every member
OF the board so understood his action
that day.
Again, Mr.. Mills had another mo-
tive III writing as he did, and one that
was personal to him. The Board did
not give him SlOO of county money
that he asked for and urged very
strongly, and it made him feel ugly to-
ward the Board. He came before the
Board and asked for 500 for work to
be done by him III filling up plats to b.
used in his office. saying that the old
Board had bought the books for him
and paid for them, thereby giving US
to understand that the old Board en-
dorsed the keeping of those books. The
new Board found on investigation that
these books were not records required
by law to be kept in the \ uditor's Of
fee; that they could not be made legal
records; that they were of no benefit to
either the county or taxpayers and on
ly of benefit to the Auditor himself:
that the giving of 500 to Mr.. Mills
was simply paying him for work that
the law says the Auditor shall do un-
der his present salary. We declined
giving the 500 and allowed Mr.. Mills
to buy the books for his private use.-
Losing 500 these hard times will
make any man mad, and now you see
the motive of the writer of the Globe
article.
Now as to the facts about the print
ing: